Game Without Honour
by WritingLevel-Meh
Summary: There's always more to a world filled with Infected, more to the Hunters and Fireflies, after all... They're people too, and what can be found in those kinds of places? A place where people hunt down others to take and take and take. What is it like in the society that Joel and Tess had once been part of? This is the story of the Hunters when they were once the hunted.
1. Stupid Jeremy

Chapter 1: Stupid Jeremy.

 **Author's Note:**

This writing has quite a lot of swearing and dark/mature themes. You have been warned.

(It will eventually tie in to meeting some of the canon characters as I'm sure Joel, Tess and maybe Ellie had other encounters prior to the events of the game and Joel mentioned being on 'both sides' in the factions war).

* * *

The compound, over the years, had become desolate from the rest of the world. Large canvas sheets making up the roofs to non-existent houses, huddles of men and women hiding away beneath them from the terrible rain that fell harder than it had ever done before.

"I can't believe they're sending us out in this weather" A man grumbled as he slapped down his set of cards in frustration.

"Better not let anyone hear you complaining, Will" A woman, observing the game but not wanting to bargain, pointed out.

"They already killed half of us. Better die being shot by the damn military than being strung up like Jeremy over there" The other, slightly younger in features, although no less aged than anyone else in similar circumstance, put his cards down on the table, indicating the weeks old corpse still hanging out in the central square.

Stupid Jeremy, as everyone referred to him, had thought it a good idea to voice his opinion about the way the leader operated things around the zone- claiming it was 'just politics, all politics'. Not taking kindly to that, Jeremy didn't make it through the night before being publicly lynched until he kicked his last bit of breath away and dangled there. Now he was just a rotting corpse, the flesh of his neck having been worn through by the wire used to hang him, and the head was barely attached to the body. Other people often made bets about how long it would take for it to fall apart, but no one seemed especially rattled by this event. After all, it was normal to everyone except outsiders, but those were often too terrified to say anything.

Lest they end up like Stupid Jeremy.

"Aw hell, Joe" Fillan cursed, scratching his head irately at having lost again.

The fourth member of the group, Manuel, offered him his lit cigarette, the stub making its way around to the woman known as Felicia who exhausted it before turning it out.

"That was my last" He pointed out, although he didn't sound too fussed since they always shared what they scavenged.

"Ah man, I'm starving" Kumi complained, his belly roaring in agreement.

"Weren't your rations enough?" Felicia asked.

"It was four biscuits and some raisins. I can't have dry outs, there's no water in the filter for that stuff" He countered.

"That's true" Manuel agreed.

"Joe. When are we getting dispatched?" William asked, combing his grimy fingers through his beard.

Joseph shuffled around, clearing the cards off the desk. "No idea, they're only sending four of us" He replied.

"Again?" The woman next to Manuel asked exasperatedly.

"Boss' orders" The dark-haired man shrugged.

"That's fine by me, I can stay back here and scout" William answered indifferently. He was obviously not eager to be in action when he was half starved, but neither were the rest of them in all honesty.

"Whatever, let's kill some time" Fillan grumbled.

"I'm in the sorting shed with Joe. Who's on scouts?" Manuel asked.

"Me and Will" Felicia answered.

"Fillan?" Kumi turned to the scrawny boy.

"I'm on patrol" He told him.

"Right, we'll probably meet back here at curfew" Felicia summarised, and each went on their way.

* * *

"Look at all of this stuff" Manuel muttered as he tossed aside an old shirt, followed by boots before coming across a bra which he spent a little longer observing before adding it to the trash pile. Noting the absence of his friend, he glanced around the sorting shed before retrieving his surgical mask and heading out into the yard. He was glad of his decision since the putrid stink of burning flesh filled the air.

It was still raining out, but the fall had decreased to a drizzle yet it was no less cold or unpleasant.

The man he was searching for was standing near the burning bodies, his bandana wrapped tight over his face as he watched the flames like the flesh from the very bones and hiss and crackle at the unwelcome drops of water that tried to calm its fury. He seemed immune to the sight, unlike Manuel who would gladly shoot a man down but could never bring himself to mutilating or burning the body.

Walking up beside him, he nudged him lightly with his shoulder, rubbing his arms in an effort to get warm. "You done here?" He asked hopefully, somehow unable to tear his gaze away from the macabre image despite wanting to go back inside.

"Yeah. Let's go, I'm dying for a cigarette" The man responded quietly, casting the bucket of dirty rain water over the human fire which went out with a sizzle and pp, the smoke quickly blown away by the wind and rain.

When they were inside, Manuel pushed the door shut and headed towards the old stove in the corner of the room, stirring up the dying embers to warm up the room before he pulled his shirt off and threw it over the back of a legless chair to let it dry, then made himself comfortable beside his friend on the pile of scavenged clothing. "I thought you didn't have any" He pointed out as he spotted the lit cigarette.

Joe let out a low chuckle, offering him a puff but the man declined. "I'm trying to cut down, so I convinced myself I don't have any… none to share anyway" He admitted with a shrug, lowering his bandana further to let it rest around his neck for when he needed it.

"Alright, yeah, let's cut down now" Manuel stole the cigarette from his hand and snuffed it out.

"Hey man, what the fuck?" Joe cursed, glaring at him since that had in fact been his last.

"I got something else in mind right now, just chill" The other tried to assure him.

"Don't tell me to fucking chill" The older man snapped, huffing as he ran a hand through his hair in a stressed manner, duly trying to contain his anger.

"Look, just relax, there ain't nobody here, just you and me, okay?" Manuel insisted, searching the other's pockets.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Joe demanded to know, not sure why he was being searched.

"Just making sure you haven't got anything else you convinced yourself you didn't have" He answered, satisfied when all he turned up with was a shiv, some bullets and a couple of firefly pendants which surprised him.

"Smartass" Joe snatched his things, stuffing them back into his pockets.

"What are you doing with those? I thought you burnt them" He asked.

"Nah, just keeping tabs… we killed a lot of people this month, Manuel, everything we scavenge is useless… but people are worth remembering," He shrugged, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve a small notepad. "Or something like that" The notepad had seen some years, the black cover was mostly faded and the pages were scraggy with bits and pieces hanging out of them.

Now intrigued, Manuel asked, "You keep names here?"

"Yeah, been a while since I realised how many tourists been down here" He passed him the notepad and Manuel opened it carefully to find names scribbled down in spidery handwriting. Some were just first names, others complete and the occasional initials. The writing looked desperate at times and some pages had bloody finger prints that had dried a long time ago.

"How many of these guys are tourists?" Manuel asked, flipping through the pages, only to realise that there was only two left.

"Not many… Most of them are Fireflies and Hunters. The occasional FEDRA soldier with a name tag. Most tourists didn't have anything to identify them by" Joe admitted.

"You've seen a lot of people die…" The younger realised, his gaze softening as he looked towards his friend.

The years had not been kind to him. His eyes were tired and cold, and he had somehow acquired a scar which cut across his lips to disappear below his collar and another slitting through his right brow. He was an athletically built man, who over the years had become slim with the lack of food but there was still muscle visible on his arms rather than the bones that could easily be identified on Fillan.

"You want to stay extra hours?" Joe asked, forcing Manuel to tear his gaze away when he realised he had been caught staring.

"Huh? Nah man, they don't pay good down here. We're better of going onto patrol" He pointed out, rubbing his neck idly.

"Only places open now would be the front gate" His companion pointed out as he stood up, ready to leave.

"Shit. I hate those damn Infected" He cursed.

"Yeah, well, any better ideas?" Joe inquired, throwing his half dry shirt back at him.

"Hmm… Yeah, if you don't mind covering for Felicia, we'll go scouts" Manuel implied, shivering as he pulled the partially damn garment back on. Wet clothes were not nice, but he would have to make do with what he had.

"Oh, man, you two are disgusting" Joe wrinkled his nose.

"Come on, it's not lie you've never had a girl before" He laughed, following him through the backyard and up the fire escape.

"It's not about the girls. How the hell can you even think about that in the middle of all this?" Joe argued, although now Manuel latched onto something else.

"Oh, so you have been with one of them. Who was it? Milly? Nah… she's not your type. Was it Lucrezia? I bet it was Lucrezia" The younger man insisted to know, agitating his friend more.

"Shut the fuck up, Manuel. It wasn't either of them" He declined, opening the gate and stepping through to the main yard.

"Well, I can tell it's been a while, why don't you join in?" Manuel offered jokingly, slapping his backside.

"And risk catching something? You've got to be kidding" Joe smacked his hand away, quite used to his perverse behaviour, but Kumi stepped in their way.

"Something you're not telling us, Manuel?" The eye patched Hunter asked, amusement clear in his expression.

"What, man? He's got a fine ass, I can't help it" The younger teased, shrugging in mock innocence.

"K, I think I'm bunking with you tonight" Joe called over his shoulder as he continued towards the scouting tower.

"That's fine and all, but I think he's right!" Kumi agreed when the other was at a far enough distance not to punch him, but all he got was a middle finger being directed at him in a less than polite manner. The two men laughed.

"Hey, Kumi, you seen Felicia?" Manuel inquired once Joe was definitely out of earshot.

Kumi shuffled his feet a little and for a moment just focused on looking over the clipboard in his hand, frowning lightly in concentration since his eye injury had affected his depth perception for quite some time. So far, he had managed to make it through heists, but shooting a gun had been incredibly hard in the first few months. He was lucky he was good enough with crafting and other things to not be considered a waste of food and cast out to the Infected.

After a short breath, he finally answered. "She's with Will" He stated shortly.

"Alright, I'll go find them—" Manuel was about to leave when the larger man grabbed his arm firmly, and brought him back.

Kumi shook his head. "No, I don't think you understand," He emphasised, staring hard into his eyes and seeing the look of confusion cross the Cuban man's face. "She's with Will" He tried to put it delicately, but his plan was thwarted when Joe returned.

"Manuel," The dark-haired Hunter cut in. "Felicia and William aren't on the rota" He told him, stopping half way down the stairs as he caught the last snippet of conversation. "She's with Will? Since when?" He repeated, a slit brow rising in question at the implication of the statement since he was uncertain of whether to take it literally or otherwise.

"That-! Ugh, wait until I get my hands on him!" Manuel's face turned red with fury and he immediately turned to run where he suspected the pair would be.

Joe made to dash after him, but Kumi grabbed him before he could leave. "Manuel! Hey—What the hell, man? Let me go!" He demanded.

"Just stop for a moment, now think about this, Joe. You know Manuel and Felicia were just messing around anyway, maybe she decided to get someone more serious" The tall man pointed out.

Wrenching his arm free, Joe took a moment and let out a huff. "Fine, fine, but… you just don't screw people over like that. I'm going to make sure he's okay" He sighed and just disappeared into the heavy drizzle, leaving Kumi uncertain of what to do.

* * *

"Hey, kid, I heard you were looking for me" William announced, stepping through the crowds of busy Hunters towards the dingy little shed reserved as a mechanic's workspace. "Oi, Joe, I'm talking to you" A hand was slowly placed on the other's shoulder.

Joseph tossed the spanner he had been working with aside, turning to face him slowly as he wiped his hands on a rag. "Do I look like a kid to you?" He responded in an unamused fashion. Joe was over thirty, he was second youngest only to William himself in their little group. "What the hell is going on with you and her anyway?" He asked, directing his gaze in Felicia's general direction briefly as he slapped his hand off.

"What? Felicia?" Will turned his gaze to the woman before dragging her closer by the waist.

"Will!" She snapped angrily, clearly not wanting to be seen with him in public. Joe was starting to get a faint idea of why or rather how they ended up together. He knew her to be materialistic.

"She's my bitch. Got a problem? What is she yours too?" He told him, with a smug grin that indicated he knew Joe was trying to sort things out between him and Manuel, but he also knew that Joe had a short fuse.

It blew.

"Oh, I am going to slap the bitch right out of you, you fucking bastard!" Slamming the oil rag down, he suddenly punched him hard, knocking him back into some barrels.

The crowd moving around outside suddenly silenced and several curious glances turned their way.

Felicia gasped. "Oh my God! Joe! What the hell?!" She yelled, but stopped and effort to help William the moment he turned a finger towards her.

"Don't. Don't you even dare!" He warned her, making her step back.

"Dude! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" William held his rapidly bruising cheek, being pulled up by some other people, eager to see a fight.

"Go get him, man!" Someone encouraged, and several other people join in.

"What the fuck is wrong with me? You knew Manuel was with her!" Joe replied.

"Who the fuck cares?! If Manuel had a pair, he wouldn't be sending you after me, it's obvious you're just his bitch though" Will huffed, managing to stand his ground even though his busted lip was bleeding profusely. His comment had elicited a few laughs from the crowd.

"He couldn't make it, unfortunately, too busy screwing your dead mother" Joe retorted haughtily.

William lunged at him. "I'll fucking teach you a lesson!" He snatched up the nearby spanner and managed to hit him right in the face.

Joe retaliated by slamming his shoulder into him, knocking him back down before furiously kicking him in the side repeatedly. A worried murmur rose from the onlookers, although the majority knew not to get involved when someone was the angry. The noise amplified when Kumi came shoving his way through and quickly snatched Joe away by grabbing him around the waist and directing him towards the wall, in hopes that he would calm down.

"Joe, breathe" Kumi tried, but the dark-haired man was furious and cursed and struggled harder.

"Can someone get a doctor?" A person was saying as they stood over the battered William.

"Yo, dude, I think he killed him" Another said.

"Nah man, he ain't dead… Everybody knows he deserved it" A third joined in, several others muttering their agreement, but Kumi just continued to pull Joe away, constantly telling him to calm down.

* * *

"Fucking, bastard, broke my nose!" Joe cursed, wincing as he tenderly touched the bruised bridge, just about having cleaned the blood and was now testing to see how bad the damage was.

"You did a good number on him too, I'd hated to be on the opposite side of your fist" Fillan pointed out from where he sat on top of an empty water barrel, kicking his legs about in a carefree manner.

"Don't encourage him, Fillan" Kumi warned as he walked inside and out of the raining, removing his hood as he closed the door. Fillan understood that this was his cue to leave and just left the room in silence. The Jamaican man slowly dragged a wooden crate over from the side so that he could sit opposite Joseph, taking the cold compress from him and carefully trying to help him out.

"Ow" Joe sucked in a deep breath through his teeth.

"Sorry. Big hands" The dark skinned male apologised, placing it aside. There was now a prominent scar on the bridge of his nose and a small but deep cut just beneath his eye, very purple and sore looking. "Hey… what you did out there was stupid" Kumi put forward honestly.

"I know" Joe agreed with a sigh. Any other man would have probably taken offence to the brutal honesty.

"But I respect you for it… You were always… A little old fashioned, but man… Fuck knows, Will deserved that" He added.

Joe shrugged. "Yeah, but Manuel didn't" He looked down at his hands somewhat guiltily.

"I don't think Manuel would care, sure he'll be upset for a while, but seriously? The girl knows she's got bidders. She goes for the highest price" Kumi assured him.

"Aw, hell. I swear, sometimes I think about putting a goddamn bullet in everyone's head. What's wrong with these people?" He huffed, scratching his slit brow in frustration.

Kumi just laughed. "There are corpses walking around, we kill and rob people, we scavenge food from each other… it can't get any worse than this, trust me" Came the answer.

Joe just shook his head and shrugged. "Yeah, thanks for that, I feel amazing about like now… better in here than out there, I guess" He sighed.

"We're gonna have to be out there soon. Those supplies ain't gonna last forever and reports said there's a military stash up near the dam" Kumi pointed out.

"Yeah, if the Fireflies haven't got to it first… besides, half that stuff is spoilt and useless, unless we're gonna survive on supplements and bullets for guns we don't even have" Joe countered.

"We've been doing this for a long time, Joe. I don't think it's time to quite yet" His friend reminded him, placing his hand out.

Joseph clasped it tightly. "Not until I die first, or God makes it so that I become one of those darned things" He assured him.

"Just like old Bill used to say, eh?" Kumi agreed with a grin.

"Wonder where he ran off to… It's been… what? Seven? Eight years? Maybe he stayed true to his word and locked himself up in that rotten old town" Joe mused.

"Bill? Probably, he got some serious issues, we should probably drop by- check on him" The other suggested.

"I'd rather keep my internal organs right where they are, thanks. He'd probably blow my brains out, never liked me much" He declined.

"I think we all found you very intimidating. You weren't scrawny man, hell when you got angry, everyone wanted to keep their balls intact so they stayed away" Kumi laughed at the memory, gripping him by shoulders and moving closer to observe how the years had changed them both.

Joe had become much more built, his skin tanned and his wavy hair longer, although he didn't have much facial hair growth other than the few wisps on his chin and the light whiskers but the scars and bruises only added to his rugged charm.

Kumi, on the other hand was buff, and stood a head taller, being notably larger than most of his comrades despite the lack of food. He had a slight beard and moustache that didn't extend to his jawline, and had acquired many scars on his dark skin, including one which had stolen his right eye, now sealed away behind a patch.

"Joseph. Remember how we met?" Kumi asked suddenly, gently squeezing the man's shoulder.

"No. Can't say I do. It was all so long ago" He confessed, his light grey-blue eyes looking up at the taller man searchingly.

"You don't remember much of anything at all these days" The larger man noted, holding his gaze for a moment before moving closer still. Joe tensed, Kumi could feel the muscle beneath his palms flex and he wondered for a moment just how much the other truly trusted him. "I want to tell you something. But you gotta promise you'll help me out" He admitted gingerly.

"… What's going on, K?" Joe was a little concerned about how serious the other seemed, and for a moment he feared the worst.

"Um… Me and Dom… have been together for a while and yeah. Kinda got carried away… She thinks she's pregnant" He confessed slowly.

Joe's eyes widened in surprise, a moment of panic seeming to flicker across his expression before he comprehended the situation.

"I don't know what to do when it starts showing" Kumi admitted solemnly, hoping that his friend would have a good idea to keep her out of the way of prying eyes.

"They won't show her mercy, K. Neither her nor your child… The only thing we can do is try to keep her safe when we're out of the reserve. Let everyone else you trust know, we'll put something together" He tried to reassure him, clapping him on the shoulder and prompting him to meet his gaze.

"No force in the world should separate a child from their parents" Kumi muttered, leaning his head onto the man's shoulder.

"I know, K, I know… We're not letting them do that" Joe patted his back in a silent gesture to be strong though he felt like knocking some sense into him. "Why the fuck would you even do that?!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Wow, you made it all the way to the bottom? You actually read it?

Anyway, this is my take of Hunter society- you don't really see many women or children around and that's probably because they have a 'survival of the fittest' policy, even though there are female Hunters in Survival mode which partially sparked my inspiration for this story. Therefore, I can imagine that they don't want to waste resources on a woman who would probably die during childbirth (I mean they're not the cleanliest of people and supplies), and a child who needs someone to look after them. In short, the soon-to-be mother would probably be abandoned and left to fend for herself.

Please R&R.

Yours Truly,

XShay.


	2. So Beautiful, She Was

Chapter 2: So Beautiful, She Was.

 **Author's Note:**

This writing has quite a lot of swearing and dark/mature themes. You have been warned.

(It will eventually tie in to meeting some of the canon characters as I'm sure Joel, Tess and maybe Ellie had other encounters prior to the events of the game and Joel mentioned being on 'both sides' in the factions war).

Just to clarify, Joseph has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) which is why he exhibits unusual levels of anger and aggressiveness. People like this often have thoughts such as; 'I can't trust anyone', 'if I go out of control, it would be horrible or could not be tolerated', 'others are out to get me' or 'they won't protect me'.

* * *

For the most part they were able to cover for her so that she wouldn't be out and about in front of anyone who might suspect anything. But after about the third month, things were becoming more difficult to hide, so she wore a larger shirt to conceal the bump. The real misfortune came when they sent the squad out to scavenge a nearby military lockbox that apparently held more bacon rations than they would know what to do with. But as with every lockbox, there were reports of Fireflies close by so they had to stick together and keep an eye out as they wondered around the Dam. The water generator was very loud, the roar of the water as it cascaded almost deafening, but it was not their first time having to pass through here so it was just a matter of waiting out the fog.

Lazy wisps of smoke rolled around and across everything, its fingers caressing tanned skin and crawling through his dark hair to moisten it like some ghastly lover long forgotten. It was cold, but not freezing, and he made a mental note to find a better jacket instead of his sleeveless denim one, although this was idle drawling in an attempt to ignore his irritating companions. There was five of them. Felicia, Manuel, Kumi, Dominique and himself. Naturally, being the one not in a relationship, he was put on watch whilst they enjoyed themselves doing things he didn't want to think about- at least Kumi and Dominique had just kept to cuddling. Surprisingly enough though, he was so used to it that it didn't even draw a reaction from him. Oh well... It wasn't like he could just leave, they had to wait the fog out so they could try and locate the box even though it was getting colder by the minute. Shivering, he drew his knees up to his chest, his fingers trembling slightly as he took to tightening the string of his bow and sanding out the arrow rest. Being so carried away in his thoughts, he barely noticed Dominique approach him until she touched his shoulder.

"Hey... Want me to take watch? You look like you're freezing out here" She offered gently.

"You shouldn't be out here, you'll catch a cold" He declined, shifting over slightly so she could sit beside him.

"I just wanted to check on you. Here" The woman passed him a thermos cup of some hot drink she seemed to always carry. Apparently, it was a mixture of dried berry herbs and hot water she had found in an old book.

"Thanks...God, it's so fucking cold" He muttered quietly, holding it in his hands to try and warm his fingers slightly, but then feared that he might make the drink go cold and resorted to taking small sips instead.

"You better not use that kind of language around your nephew" Dominique warned him jokingly.

Joe almost dropped the cup on himself. "Nephew?" He repeated, looking at her startled.

She was still as lovely as ever with her caramel skin, long braided hair and bright hazel eyes. They had something in the distant past, a close friendship that had bordered on love but neither had really wanted to draw it on much further, but now they were just constantly teasing each other about anything and everything.

"Well," She began, holding onto his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Kumi always speaks fondly of you, and I see you as a brother so why not? You can be the baby's uncle" She explained.

Joe laughed. "If I was then I would be the uncle everybody wishes would forget the day of the get together" He pointed out but she nudged him in the shoulder and just laughed.

"Don't say that, silly" Dominique scolded light heartedly. "But you need to get yourself a girl" She added and it was his turn to nudge her.

"For what purpose?" He asked solemnly.

"So she can bring a smile to your face, so you can spend cold nights together, and so you can release all that pent up frustration" She emphasised, squeezing the muscle of his neck.

"Ouch- what the hell was that for?" He winced, batting her hand away.

"See what I mean? You're really tense" She pointed out.

"That's a stupid reason" He argued.

"Maybe she'll be able to do something about that foul temper of yours while she's at it" Dominique giggled, laughing as he gave her a look of complete bemusement. The expression however, quickly changed to alert as he held up a hand, signalling for her to go alert the others. "What is it?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Uniforms, take cover" He urged, slowly backing up and vaulting over the crate to hide.

Dominique followed, rushing to make the others aware. Just in time, a military squadron came into sight, professional weapons and armour gleaming temptingly in the mist. They had FEDRA printed boldly on their uniforms, the white letters brandished insultingly as though they were proud of their allegiance.

"Fucking military" Joe spat, reaching for an arrow.

"We can't take them on. We're only five people, they're twelve" Kumi suddenly interjected.

"It's either this or we lead them back to the settlement" Joe countered.

"Joseph's right, Kumi" Manuel sidled in beside them, checking his revolver.

"Well we can lead them away, we've done it before" Felicia suggested from her hiding spot behind the nearby oil barrels, clutching her assault rifle close. Her eyes were wide with fright, she had never confronted the military, only heard of the horrors they did to the women and men they captured. Sure, the Hunters weren't angels but there were some margins they wouldn't cross, like withholding supplies and performing public checks and executions- even if some of the previous Hunter leaders had attempted to implement this tactic to cause fear.

"Felicia, you should go on back to the compound with Dominique" Kumi tried to comfort her, but Manuel frowned at him.

"We're going to need all the help we can get" He pointed out.

"But Dom needs help" The other dismissed.

"She never needed it before" He countered.

"She's almost three months along, and besides, this is fucking FEDRA" Kumi replied defensively.

Manuel glared at him, but Joe placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from turning it into a full-blown argument.

"I know what you're saying, man, but she ain't no good to us if she's frozen solid. Tell them to send back up when you get there" Joe called over his shoulder. Felicia nodded numbly before hurrying off with Dominique. "Yeah... We're not seeing that back up any time soon, so let's stall" Joe suggested once the two were out of sigh, slinking off into the fog and taking cover where Felicia had just recently vacated.

"He's right" Manuel agreed, raising a brow at Kumi expectantly- he needed to apologise.

Kumi just huffed and turned his gaze to the nearest troop. They were still a good distance off but they were getting closer now and they could be heard talking loudly.

"Ah shit, man... Can't see nothing in this fog" One complained.

"Yeah well, better here than Pittsburgh. Heard those damn scavs took over the Quarantine Zone" The second told him.

"Really? Ain't seen one of them in weeks" A third joined in.

"Apparently, they got hold of a Humvee" He shrugged.

"Yeah man, that's a load of bull. How'd they get it?" The first waved him away dismissively.

"Probably asked nicely" The third scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah, fuck you too" He flipped them off, turning to walk away.

Kumi watched as Joe scaled around the box, crouch walking behind the soldier slowly before effectively locking his arm around his neck in a chokehold. The soldier gasped in shock, the cry of surprise caught in his throat as he flailed about, eyes wide in their sockets as he struggled to comprehend what was going on before his head was twisted violently and his neck snapped. Joe silently lowered him to the floor, signalling Kumi to attend to the other one as he shuffled along behind the next victim.

"Yo, Matt-" The first began, his body hitting the floor before he could finish the sentence. "What- hey! Straggler!" The soldier spotted Kumi before he could shift back into hiding, raising the alarm which blared loudly.

"Fuck!" Joseph cursed, pulling the misfortunate bastard back and violently stabbing him in the neck. Blood gushed out of the open wound like a fountain, painting his arms and sleeves in red before he could dispose of the body. "Let's spread out, see if you can find some supplies" He instructed, withdrawing and dashing across the generator platform. There was bound to be some stuff lying around that they could make use of.

Manuel was quick to follow, being the more resourceful one, he looked around until he found an old tool box near one of the large powerhouses. Kicking it over, he searched through nuts and bolts and other useless tools until he found a pair of rusty scissors, a half-used bag of some fine dusty grey powder and a dirty rag.

"Come on, Manuel, we need to go" Kumi urged.

"Okay, okay" He muttered, dumping the stuff into his backpack before sprinting after them.

"Did you find anything?" Joseph asked him once they were safely tucked away behind some unused replacement pipes that had been left haphazardly at the other side of the plant's main floor.

"I got some scissors, a rag... Dunno what the hell this is though?" He tossed him the half-used bag.

Joseph opened it, taking a sniff before wrinkling his nose. "Stinks like gun powder. Kumi?" The bag was handed over to the larger man.

"Shit is definitely explosive. Might be worth making a nail bomb" He suggested, passing it back to Manuel.

"Yeah, going to need some sugar for that, I ain't got any- woah shit!" He cursed, ducking just in time to avoid a bullet zooming past his head. It embedded itself into a nearby wooden crate, white crystals spilling out from the hole.

"Looks like you just found it" Kumi quickly busted the box open, snatching two bags of sugar and stuffing them into Manuel's backpack.

"Hurry up" Joe urged, drawing an arrow which zoomed by silently. It must have hit its target for soon there was a loud thud and someone howling about taking an arrow to the knee.

"How many left?" Manuel asked as he rushed after him towards the hillside. There was a car turned over on its side, long rusted, but worth looting.

"We took out four, I think they're about eight-" before Kumi could finish, another arrow caught someone in the throat.

"Seven" Joe corrected, drawing another arrow.

"He's here!" Someone cried out.

"Fuck" Kumi put his firearm away, drawing the Shorty from his belt, pressing up against the wall to stay out of the way as a soldier sent a spray of bullets in his direction. "Manuel, quick" He urged, sliding across and ducking behind the car.

"Almost got it, man" Manuel answered in a hushed whisper, his hands shaking terribly as he snapped the rusted scissors in half, pouring the mixture of sugar and explosive powder into an empty can before pushing the blades through. "This better work" He prayed silently, slipping out of cover slightly to aim before tossing it. It took around five seconds to burst but shards flew everywhere like some kind of shrapnel grenade. There was silence for a moment longer before something went flying in their general direction, no longer than two seconds before a cloud of smoke erupted and Manuel was blinded. "I can't fucking see!" He flailed around desperately, eyes watering and burning as he coughed.

"Joe, come on!" Kumi had luckily missed the worst of it and practically hauled the blinded man with him, running through the rocky formation down towards the waterfall.

Joseph covered their back until they were momentarily behind cover once more. "Manuel, you're gonna be alright. Okay? Come here" He lowered him onto his knees, scooping up handfuls of water to help him wash his face.

"I can't see, Joseph, I can't see" He repeated desperately, tears rolling down his face uncontrollably from the irritant.

"Joe, what're we gonna do?" Kumi inquired, checking his magazine.

"Go on back to camp, K. Take Manuel with you" He told him.

"What are you talking about? You're coming with us" Kumi stated angrily.

"Yeah, don't worry I'll cover you" Joseph assured him bitterly.

"Joe?" Manuel clung to him desperately, wet blood coating his fingers. "Shit. He's hurt" He informed Kumi. Kumi quickly rushed over to look at it, the bullet had hit his diaphragm and he was bleeding profusely.

"Quit gawking, and fucking do something" Joe pushed him away, lowering himself slowly against the rock so he could sit down. It hurt pretty bad, despite it not being the first bullet wound and not being too deep, it was vital.

"I'mma- I'm gonna patch you up, okay? Promise me you'll hang in there" Kumi quickly reached for his shiv, wiping it down with a disinfected rag before roughly sticking it into the wound.

"Fuck!" Joe tried his best to keep still but it was hard and his breathing was laboured.

"It's out, it's out" Kumi practically cheered, hurriedly disinfecting the wound and patching it up with gauze.

"Fuck, man, give me the needle" He pleaded, resting his head back against the boulder. He was burning up, but Kumi wasn't sure if he should give him morphine or not.

"I don't know man-" He hesitated.

"Fan out!" A voice boomed over the roar of the water fall.

"Hurry the fuck up, go" Joseph yelled at them, shoving Manuel before dragging himself up and staggering after them. A gun shot sounded, just about alerting them that their allies were nearby.

"Hey, you hear that?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Fuck. We ain't got many left, better find them quick" The second urged, following the trail of bloody finger prints as best he could before an arrow caught him in the neck.

The remaining six were alerted by a loud splash, one of them turning around just in time to spot Manuel. His vision was bleary and one eye was still too fuzzy to see through, so he was helpless when the man suddenly charged at him, punching him in the face hard and putting a gun to his head. Joseph all but threw himself at the guard, trying to strangle him but the armour made it difficult and he was suddenly thrown off, his back hitting the ground hard. He cried out, clutching his wounded side in pain and shuffling back in an attempt to get away.

"Hey, this one's pretty cute, come here so I can snap your neck" The man laughed, putting his gun away and moving to catch him.

Joe reached for his Revolver but it was kicked out of his hand, unwanted fingers suddenly grasping him by the hair.

"How about I cut all your fingers off first, huh?" The soldier kicked him over, grabbing one of his hands and the serrated knife from its sheath.

Manuel rubbed at his eyes hard in a desperate attempt to regain his vision, but just as his sight cleared, he was shocked by the sound of gunfire.

1\. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click. Click.

The magazine was empty and the guard's head was full of bullets. Joe was breathing hard, his dark hair clinging to his neck and forehead and his chest heaving with the effort required to breathe and his hands were shaking around the gun.

"We need to get back..." Joseph murmured, slowly being brought out of his reverie as gunshots were heard close by. "Where's Kumi?" He suddenly asked, grasping Manuel by the collar.

"He was just here..." He took a step back to look for their friend but what he saw horrified him. "Joseph" He swallowed hard, shakily pointing towards the corpse that now lay face down in the water.

There was a pause, a glitch, a stutter as though he had fallen out of sorts with himself as he slowly stood up. He stumbled and fell, the blood polluted water splashing around as he crawled the rest of the way weakly. "Kumi... Get up... K, come on, they're here" He urged.

"Joe" Manuel placed a hand on his shoulder, but he was ignored.

"K, get up... Please... Don't do this to me. You promised Dominique you'd be back" Those words struck a chord with him and Manuel suddenly felt his eyes begin to tear up. No man was supposed to die today. But it was his fault for sending Felicia off, they would have had more of a chance if he had just-

"Ah shit! We got one down!" A Hunter called back to his companions, rushing over to see if he could do anything. "Is this everyone?" He asked.

It was Malfatto, a young Italian doctor they had taken in since the last one had died.

"Yeah" Manuel croaked, watching in silence as the rest of the crew gathered around.

"Hey, help me out here" Malfatto requested, ushering a woman over.

"He's frozen solid" She noted.

"Well then, he's not dead yet" The doctor announced, beginning to pump against his chest in an effort to get his heart beating again.

The woman who had been called over escorted them away, hugging Joseph in a surprisingly intimate fashion. "Don't worry, he's just in shock from hypothermia... We say that they aren't dead until they're warm and dead" She assured him quietly.

Joseph hugged her back, kissing her appreciatively. "I really fucked up, Gill..." He muttered.

"Don't blame yourself, Joseph. It's their fault for sending out a group of three- I was so worried about you" She told him, cupping his face. "You look pale, are you alright?" She asked worriedly, searching him for any wounds. Her eyes widened at the blood along his shirt.

* * *

It took them at least a week to recover from that, but after that the boss wanted to see them.

"Uff- agh!" He spat blood on the tiles, clutching his stomach in pain as another kick was received, sending him crashing into the counter before he stumbled and fell hard.

"Don't fucking touch him! Stop it!" Manuel's shouting seemed so far away, and his head lulled back dizzily before someone suddenly grasped him by the hair.

"Ah-!" He winced, clawing at the hand in his hair, desperately trying to break free, but it hardly lasted long before he was shoved onto his knees. He coughed from the impact, flecks of blood dripping onto the floor before he managed to sit back on his haunches.

"Hands behind your head!" A man commanded and he flinched at how loud his voice sounded but followed the instruction anyway.

Manuel. Where was he? He managed to steal a glance of his friend being restrained somewhere off to the side, but luckily enough he hadn't been beaten up. Sighing, he straightened his posture to reduce the pressure off his wound. A metal door sounded, echoing off the damp walls of the underground cellar and then footsteps followed. The boss was a middle aged Japanese man who looked quite intimidating with his constant frown and yakuza origins. He walked right up to him, squatting down to get a closer look.

"This one doesn't look like a thief. Why bring him here?" He asked, grabbing him by the jaw to inspect his face more closely. Joe resisted the urge to jerk away, keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

"Cost us a battle with the military, lock box is gone too, one of the girls that came for backup was pregnant, they were trying to cover for her" One of the men reported.

The boss turned his gaze back to him. "That your girlfriend you knocked up?" He inquired.

"She's not my fucking girlfriend-" Before he could finish the sentence, someone decided it was a good idea to kick him but a signal from the boss warned him to stop.

"Alright... Let's say I believe you," the implication of that sentence felt like a heavy weight on his shoulder. "There was a pregnant woman on your team. You decided to send her back along with another woman and in turn lost everyone here another week worth of food" The boss raised his brows at him expectantly.

"It was selfish... I'm sorry" Joseph apologised.

"It wasn't his decision!" Manuel interrupted. "Kumi told them to go back! He had nothing to do with it-!" His shouting was silenced by a punch in the stomach.

"Do you know why we don't keep pregnant women around?" It was a rhetorical question. "Because they end up dying anyway, so instead of preserving the stronger life, we swap it for a runt of a little child who no one would be willing to take responsibility for" The Japanese man stood up, pacing around the room in a slow and leisurely way.

"I'll take responsibility, sir" Joseph told him, halting him in his tracks.

There was a tense silence in the room and he half expected a bullet through his head, but the man did something strange. "What do you mean by that," There was a pause as he crouched back down, yanking his dog tag out of his tank top. "Joseph Ackerman?" He finished off.

"I'll get the fucking lockbox; the military haven't got it yet... Just change the goddamn rules" He was in a poor state, and blood was seeping through his shirt from the old open wound.

The boss regarded him for a moment, before signalling the guards to take Manuel out. "I'll consider your proposal, but until then, you can stay here" Those words made him sigh, he knew there would be consequences. But even as they vacated and the door was locked, he wondered if it had been worth it.

The cellar was cold, and little light entered through the small vent at the top. Retreating into the darker corner away from the door, he decided it would be a while before he would be out, so he would try and conserve his energy as best as possible.

Manuel didn't get off easy either, he got a good beating in public then got thrown aside like a sack of potatoes and the whispers and rumours just ticked him off even more. "Oh my God, Manuel- Malfatto! Malfatto, come quick" The one who picked him up was the ginger haired woman he had seen with Joe earlier and he tried to tell her what had happened but couldn't summon the effort to. Everything hurt.

* * *

He woke up nearly two days later, getting up with a start and endeavouring to leave the bed but Felicia stopped him.

"No, please, Manuel, you need to rest, I was worried sick" She sobbed, her pretty face marred by makeup and her fair skin pale from lack of sleep and nutrition. She looked like she had been suffering and he felt even more guilty for not having done something sooner.

Manuel wanted to cry and she clasped his hand tightly in her own, a frightened look in her dulled green eyes.

"Manuel, let's run away" She suddenly proposed.

It took him only a moment to frown and prepare himself to ask her if she'd lost it, but she quickly dived into an explanation.

"All of us, let's get Dominique and Kumi and Joseph- I'm sure I can persuade Malfatto and Gillian to come along, please, Manuel, this place has been nothing but bad since the start" Felicia urged him, squeezing his hand tightly.

Manuel felt confused as he thought over it. What about the offer that Joe made with the Boss? Would the man accept? Something suddenly struck him.

"Where's Joseph?" He asked her, and she looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I haven't seen him since the last time, do you think they-?" She couldn't finish the thought. It was true that Joseph hadn't exactly been the friendliest to her, but she still remembered the day he stood up to William and that had meant a lot to her.

"No. He's probably in the detention camp" Manuel shook his head.

"Joseph is where?" Gill, who was bringing two hot cans of soup for them, suddenly froze.

Both Manuel and Felicia fell silent. Gillian moved closer, her stormy blue eyes reflecting her concern over the wellbeing of the man. So, this was the woman that Joseph had chosen? Somehow Manuel didn't find the answer to his question from several weeks ago amusing.

"What does Joseph mean to you?" He inquired, his expression serious.

"Manuel!" Felicia was horrified at the seemingly rude question but Gill took a moment to understand what he meant before she answered.

"He's my boyfriend" She replied, slowly handing him the can of soup.

Manuel watched her carefully as though he was considering whether to tell her or not, but Felicia beat him to it.

"We think he's in the detention camp, that's where Manuel saw him last" She put in.

"Oh no" Gillian clasped a hand over her mouth, her eyes reflecting her shock and it was clear that she had assumed the worst. Felicia stood to comfort her, gently patting her back and telling her it would be alright.

"Where's Dominique?!" They heard Kumi shouting down the hall, suddenly bursting into the room.

"Kumi?" Manuel looked towards him with surprise.

"Manuel, have you seen Dom? I- I can't find her" The larger man stuttered desperately.

"No, man, I'm sorry, are you sure she's not on patrol?" He tried to help, but Kumi shook his head.

"She's not there, couple of girls told me they took her, but I don't know where to find her" He admitted and Gillian moved towards him, gently squeezing his hand.

"She might be in the detention camp with Joseph" She suggested.

"Wait. They took Joe as well?" Kumi seemed in a further state of distress about the implication of all of this. Surely that wasn't a coincidence? "We have to go help them. Manuel, come on"

"You stay away from me" He snapped.

"Manuel!" Gillian snapped, surprised by his unwillingness to cooperate.

"Hey, what's wrong, man?" The older asked in confusion.

"What's wrong?! You put us in this mess, Kumi! And now we're all suffering! It's all because of your stupid decision!" He accused.

"Manuel, it's no one's fault, we'll figure something out, I promise" She intervened.

Kumi huffed, falling into a chair and burying his head in his hands with a shaky inhalation of breath. "I know someone who can check if they're in there, but I need you to stay calm"

* * *

Dominique couldn't say she wasn't nervous when she was escorted to the man referred to as the boss. He took one look at her, sneered then motioned for them to take her away.

"What's going on?" She asked one of the guards, but they ignored her. "Hey answer me" The dark-skinned woman urged, yet no response came and when it did, it came in the form of a door.

"Watch the steps, lady" Someone warned her as she was none too kindly pushed through into the dark cellar of the detention camp.

"Hey!" She called out, turning to complain but it shut behind her and she heard the lock click into place. Cursing, she stepped back to look around her, her eyes taking a moment to adjust in the darkness. "Joe!" Dominique gasped, rushing over to check on him.

"Dominique? What are you doing here- agh!" He winced as he attempted to sit up right, falling against her weakly when she hugged him.

"You're hurt so badly" She sobbed, brushing his wet hair away from his face.

He was freezing cold, like someone had thrown him into a frozen river. "I'm okay, I just took a beating" He assured her, easing himself away to inspect her for injuries. "They didn't hurt you, did they?" He asked, his throat hoarse from lack of hydration.

"No, but... Oh Joseph, I'm so sorry, I never meant for this to happen" She cried, holding on to him as tears ran down her face. She feared for him and for herself, but mostly for her unborn child. What would happen to him or her?

He hugged her gently, letting her rest against his chest for the time being. "It's not your fault. How's Kumi?" He asked, breathing hard.

"He's anxious... He said we should try to leave this place. All of us" Dominique admitted quietly, her teary eyes looking up at him hopefully.

"You know I can't do that-" He began to decline but she quickly argued back.

"We could go to Bill's town, it's safe for us there" She reasoned but he scoffed.

"He would blow all of our heads off before anyone can ask to stay. Bill has changed, it's about time we accept that" Joe muttered solemnly.

"Well then, we'll join up with the-" Her suggestion was silenced before it was spoken, and the look in his eyes terrified her.

"If you want to go, then do so... I'm not taking the risk of being shot in the head for trying to protect anyone. I'm done saving people, Dominique" And with that he stood up, leaving her alone for a moment and it was only then she realised what he actually meant by those words.

* * *

"Is that a wedding ring?" Kumi asked curiously, eyeing the gleaming silver encrusted diamond on Gillian's right hand.

"This old thing?" She asked, looking down at it as though she had forgotten it was there.

"N'aw, it's that thing that girls with broken dreams wear when their husbands run away" She responded sarcastically, her Scottish twang emphasising the fact she found it to be a strange question.

"No, I'm being serious. You and Joe? I saw him wearing something similar" He pried, hoping to get her to talk since Joseph was more secretive about his relationships with other people. Especially with Gillian. If he hadn't accidentally walked in on them in the midst of something several years ago, he would never have guessed it to be platonic.

"Yeah, well... It's not official, his ring is older than mine, probably from his last relationship" Gillian admitted, leading him around the back of the detention camp. It was an isolated building amid what use to be a wine factory, only just this particular building had survived. "Hey, over here, this is the guy" She called out to him, indicating the familiar man.

"William?" Kumi was shocked to say the least.

* * *

Dominique flinched as the door suddenly opened, the bright light that entered making her squint.

"Hey, look, he's still standing" One of the guards remarked with a snicker.

"What should we do about the lady?" The other asked.

"What can we do about her? Boss said she stays here" The third answered him.

Dominique just glared at them, hugging herself against the cold. She was starving and hadn't had anything to drink since that morning.

"So?" He countered.

"So? She's pretty, man, I want me some of that" The first laughed, only to get rammed by Joe. He sent him sprawling into the steps, jaw cracking off the hard concrete before he rolled away clutching his face.

"Fucking bastard!" The second guard launched at him, slamming him into the wall and proceeding to attempt to punch him but Joe struggled hard, pushing him away constantly.

"Motherfucker!"

By this point, Dominique couldn't tell what was going on until she saw the second man fall to the floor yelling madly with a knife half stuck in his eye socket. Joe wrenched it out mercilessly before going for the third man, sprinting after him before he could alert the rest of them. The shiv cut his jugular vein, blood bursting from his neck like a fountain as he dropped lifelessly to the floor.

Joseph sighed, returning to get her from the cellar and she was glad to see him unharmed. "How are you feeling?" He asked her hoarsely.

"I- I feel faint, Joseph" She clung to him for support and he tried to lift her, although he was weaker than he had been in a while.

"Here, stay here, I'll get you some water, don't make a sound and if anyone comes..." He placed her down on a mattress in one of the smaller rooms, giving her a gun he had taken from one of the dead guards.

"Joseph don't leave me, please" She begged, terrified to death of the pain in her stomach. It was faint but it was still there.

"Don't worry, I'll come back, I promise" He assured her, gently touching his forehead to hers for a moment. Dominique felt herself calm at the familiar gesture, but she couldn't shake off the horrible feeling that something might happen.

He ducked behind the fire barrels, listening out for any noise from the top of the stairs, dust spiralling as a patrol guard paced back and forth. Joe took a deep breath in before slowly climbing the stairs, up to the next floor. The man had stopped at the opposite window and was currently staring at something outside. Perfect. Very carefully, the man walked behind him, snatching him backwards in a break neck hold but not quite doing so.

"What the fu-!" The guard began to panic and struggled hard but couldn't break free so he stilled. "Please don't hurt me!" He begged.

"Where can I get some water?" Joe inquired, baffling the man.

"Store room down the hallway, there's some bottles" He answered hurriedly, gulping as the grip tightened.

"And the way out?" The question was asked calmly but it was that tone which made him whimper desperately. He knew he was going to die.

"O- over there, down- down the hallway, big door, can't m-miss it!" He stuttered.

"Good" A swift twist of the neck was his reward and his body fell soundlessly to his final rest.

Rushing to the storage room he had indicated, the Hunter checked for a lock but found none, opening it to search through boxes of things for some water. He came across a batch of canned leek soup and looked around the room for a moment, there were boxes around and scattered old sheets.

Bingo.

He got down to tearing a linen cloth roughly into a square and proceeded to shove three cans in, two of peaches, several tins of sardine and two bottles of water. Cutting another strip off from a canvas sheet, he tied the makeshift knapsack then swung it over his back before grabbing another bottle of water. As quickly as he could, he ran back down the stairs to where he had left Dominique, relieved when he found her there.

"Here, drink up, I'm getting us out of this fucking mess" He told her miserably. He looked pale from blood loss and tired from the lack of sleep. How long had he been in there? Certainly more than a day.

Dominique took the water gratefully- it wasn't cold but it helped reduce her pain a little. "How are we going to find the rest?" She asked, leaning on him as he helped her up and through to the stairs.

The back entrance was as the dead man had described it- hard to miss. Although why it was so heavily unguarded was another mystery. "We're not going to find them" He told her, signalling for her to hold as he checked for any patrol men. One at the far end of the hallway but he wasn't paying attention.

"What are you saying, Joe?" Dominique frowned, trying to keep her anger from simmering as they edged around towards the fire exit.

Joe motioned for her to be silent as he carefully pulled on the bar, the rusty metal creaking noisily as the door was pushed open. The sound alerted the guard and he turned around, beginning to walk fast towards the source of the noise, but when he arrived, he only found the door swinging in the wind with no one in sight.

* * *

"Joe! Joseph stop! Listen to me!" Dominique yelled as she marched after him across the field at the back of the factory.

"What? What do you want?" He asked, stopping and turning to look at her.

"What did you mean when you said we're not going to find Kumi and the rest?" She inquired, suspicion reflected in her voice.

He looked away as though contemplating how to answer her, but she took his silence as a response.

"You want us to run away and leave them? Is that it? Is that what you meant, Joseph?" Her words were full of accusations as she stepped forward.

"You don't understand-" he protested, but she shoved him hard in the chest.

"What don't I understand, Joe?! I've known you for eight years, Joseph! You were always the one who looked out for us! All of us! What the hell happened to you?!" She yelled at him.

"What the hell happened to me?!" He exploded with anger and she instantly backed away. "Do you know what they did to me in there?! I fucking got tortured in every possible way for you, Dominique! They think you're carrying my child! What was I supposed to say to them?! No, Kumi did it?!" For the first time in all her life, Dominique saw tears of frustration in his stormy grey eyes and his behaviour suddenly made sense to her.

"Joe, I'm so sorry" She cried, clapping a hand to her mouth in shock. Tears stung her eyes and she was at a loss for words by this point.

Joseph looked like he was about to break down and he gently pushed her away when she tried to hug him, his hands slowly rising to his head and fingers trembling as he attempted to run them through his hair in the same way he normally did when he was trying to calm down. However, he gave in to the emotional stress and let out a grunt of anger as he kicked at the floor, looking for something to take his frustration out on.

How was he supposed to solve this?

Though he eventually calmed down and just sat down in the middle of nowhere, soon enough, she joined him.

Who knew for how long they had sat there.

"Joe... Why don't you want them to come?" She asked delicately, running her fingers through his dark curls. His eyes remained closed as though he was asleep where he lay with his head in her lap.

"... It's just you, Dom... You can have your baby somewhere else, somewhere safe... And Kumi can go to you after a short while, just to make sure he doesn't seem suspicious" He explained tiredly.

"Where? Aren't you coming with us?" She asked worriedly.

"I know a place... They'll look after you there, don't worry" He murmured, but her second question remained unanswered.

"What about you?" She repeated, carefully tracing the scar he had acquired across his lip.

"I'm going to take Gill and we're going to go elsewhere... Maybe join the Fireflies" He told her, although when he opened his eyes he seemed uncertain.

"Hey look, there they are!" Gillian called to him as they emerged from the underground tunnel out towards the back entrance. Kumi heard her call out and rushed after her, breaking into a sprint. The man seemed eager, but then he slowed down for a short moment, the closer he approached.

Dominique was so caught up in making the man calm down that she hadn't expected him to suddenly be snatched by the collar.

"K-" Joseph hardly had the time to take in what was happening before the larger man slammed him face first into the fence. A hand was placed at the back of his neck, paralysing the rest of his movement as Kumi crashed into him to pin him where he was.

"Kumi!" Dominique yelled, struggling to stand up with her pregnancy.

"You been fucking my girl, Joe?!" The Jamaican male barked at him.

"K, I can't breathe!" Joseph tried to get his hand off his neck but Kumi was seeing red and shoved him into the fence harder before tripping him. "Ah fuck-!" He gasped as his already injured back hit the floor.

William stood by and watched with amusement as Kumi beat Joe up for him without actually realising it.

"Kumi! Kumi, you get the fuck off him right now!" Gill yelled at him, hand on her holster warningly.

"Or what?! Huh? You gonna shoot me? This man that you love so much has betrayed you as he did me!" He shouted at her.

"Hey, he's wearing a ring like Gill's" William pointed out. This seemed to have also caught Kumi's attention and Gill began to panic.

"No! Don't you dare! Kumi please! You've got this all wrong!" Dominique pleaded him to understand, eyes wide with terror at the implication of it all.

Kumi pressed all his weight down on to the man he had once called his best friend, forcing his left hand out flat onto the ground.

"Get the fuck off me, I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking kill you both" Joe growled at him, breathing hard as blood dribbled down his chin. He sounded like a man possessed and Gill was suddenly very scared for him.

"Kumi, he didn't do anything, you get off him now!" The Scottish woman pulled her gun, but Kumi ignored her and searched for a shiv. Only then did she realise what he was about to do, but she couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger.

"Get off! Let me go!... Get the fuck off!" Joseph wasn't just agnry, he was hysterical and didn't seem to realise what was going on around him.

"Well you should have thought twice before touching another man's girl" William sneered, handing Kumi a shiv.

"I trusted you, Joe! You break my trust, I break you!" The words were followed by a heart wrenching scream from the older man as the sharp blade cut clean through his skin.

Dominique felt sick and the pain in her stomach began anew. "Oh my God, I'm gonna faint" She gasped, earning her lover's attention.

"Dom?" Kumi instantly released him and sprang to catch her.

"Joseph!" Gillian ran to check on him, tears running down her face and blurring her vision as she saw the blood and the stained silver ring lying close beside where he was clutching his hand to his chest. "Joseph let me see" She reached into her pocket for a small patch up pack, taking out a clean cloth and snatching his hand away.

His finger had been severed just above the ring area, but the cut was clean luckily. Quickly, she cleaned up the blood and disinfected the wound, all the time telling him that he would be alright. She then proceeded to wrap gauze around it as best as possible, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Where was Malfatto when she needed him?

"He didn't touch me" Dominique was telling Kumi.

"I don't fucking care now" Kumi held her desperately to him.

"No, you cut off his finger, Kumi. Do you know that if it weren't for him I would still be in there and they would be raping me?" Her voice was quiet but that was only because she was faint, otherwise each syllable was stressed with anger.

Kumi was unable to reply to that, and he blanched with horror at his mistake. "Are you alright?" He asked her after a moment of silence.

"No... I'm getting real bad pains... I'm so scared" She confessed, holding onto him tightly.

* * *

Malfatto had never looked so pale after treating a patient, and he collapsed into his chair tiredly as he walked inside his office.

"Is he alright?" Gillian inquired.

Malfatto removed his glasses slowly, massaging the bridge of his nose as he contemplated what to tell her and what not to. "Yeah... Can't do much about his finger though, I'm sorry, I just sealed up the stump and gave him some sedatives... He really took a beating, Gill, if you hadn't gotten him here when you did..." He left the sentence unfinished but he didn't have to finish it anyway. She already knew that.

"Thank you so much, Malfatto, I don't know how to thank you" She muttered, tearing up again but the Italian doctor just shook his head and assured her that Joe was a good friend to him as well and he would have been devastated if anything had happened to him. "Guess I can't see him now, huh? What about the woman they brought in here?" She asked.

"No... I don't specialise in midwifery, but we found a woman who does, I think she'll be okay"

* * *

When they finally let him into the room, he found her lying all alone in the bed with tear reddened eyes.

"Dom" He took her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

She was silent for a long time and couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry" He apologised.

The silence extended for almost ten minutes before she spoke up.

"They said she couldn't make it... She never even got to see her Daddy" Dominique took a deep breath in, tears falling from her lashes as she spoke shakily.

Kumi's eyes stung at her words. "My baby girl is...?" A half-formed question that was answered only by a nod.

"I think that maybe God is trying to tell us something, K..." She told him, and he felt his heart shatter into millions of pieces when she finally met his gaze.

"Like what?" He asked fearfully.

"... You shouldn't have done that to Joseph" She reminded him.

And Kumi suddenly understood what she meant. He had not only lost the child he would never meet, but he had also lost the man he considered a brother. "I don't think he wants to see me" He licked his lips nervously and it was Dominique's turn to squeeze his hand.

"The things he has done for you are worth more than you trying, Kumi... And we both know that" She assured him, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're okay, Dom"

* * *

When she had fallen asleep, he left her bedside to go visit Joseph.

Gillian was sleeping outside on a set of chairs with Felicia nearby and Manuel watching over them. When he came by, Manuel stared at him, but there wasn't hatred in his gaze, only shock and disappointment and hurt and those stung more than hatred ever could.

Kumi stopped by the door, hesitating a moment, before turning to talk to him. "Hey, uh... I'm sorry about the things I said to you earlier, didn't really mean it" He apologised, wiping a stray tear from his eye.

Manuel looked down for a moment before nodding in acceptance. "He's still sleeping... You probably shouldn't do anything, otherwise... I won't forgive you" He warned him quietly, seeming just as sensitive about the topic.

"I couldn't" Kumi assured him, not really sure whether Joe would be able to forgive him at all.

When he entered the room, all that could be heard was the steady rhythm of the heart monitor beeping and the hiss of the old-fashioned oxygen supply as the man breathed in and out calmly. He was asleep, and Kumi was glad for it. He didn't really know how to approach him.

Would Joe even let him apologise?

He had taken his ring finger, back home where they came from that marked him as untrustworthy- someone who you should always keep an eye on and to women it was the symbol of infidelity, the symbol to never trust him.

Moving closer, he hesitated a little before taking a seat beside the bed. He could see his injured hand, although gauze and bandages hid the stub where two thirds of his finger were missing.

"I'm so sorry, Joe" Kumi apologised to the darkness of the room, feeling tears spring to his eyes. "But you know... I lost my baby today... They said she was a still born" He muttered, wiping at his eyes with a trembling hand. "You know... Dominique thinks it's my fault, she said if it weren't for me doing this to you... Maybe she would have lived" The weight of his own words struck him with a torrent of self-demeaning emotions and he broke down sobbing like a little boy. "You've been such a good friend to me, I'm so sorry... I hope you can forgive me" All his guilt and sadness poured out until he was left exhausted and fell asleep.

* * *

"Good morning, Malfatto" Gillian greeted as she entered his office, placing a plate of something on his desk.

Malfatto looked up from the radio he had been attempting to tune, his bespectacled eyes glancing from her to the plate of something he hadn't seen in a long time. "Is that apple crisp?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I found some canned apples and biscuits and made enough for everyone here, but I thought that you deserved the first slice" She told him and her smile was a tired one, her eyes reddened and puffy from crying.

"Thank you, thank you very much, Gillian" He seemed very happy about the small gesture and she was relieved. "Can I eat it now?" The question was a little odd but it made her smile.

"Sure" As soon as she gave her answer, he tucked in to the dessert, eating every spoonful with appreciation. "You know, when I first got my doctor's degree in Italy, I came here to America and married a lovely woman. She had an apple farm and she would make it every day" He told her as he was finishing up.

"What was her name?" The Scottish woman inquired.

"Annamarie, so beautiful she was" He sighed, smiling fondly at the memory of his long-gone wife.

"That's a wonderful name. If I ever had a daughter, I would call her that" Gillian gently patted his hand.

Malfatto thanked her again, apologising and saying that he was having trouble contacting headquarters so he needed to check for signs of trouble. Gillian wished him luck and left the room to get some warm soup and visit her lover.

* * *

Gentle fingers sifted through his dark curls, his dull grey eyes fluttering open tiredly to stare at the ceiling. The light from the outside was bright, even though the curtains had been pulled and he had to take a moment to adjust before managing to comprehend where he was. His vision was blurry and every muscle and bone in his body felt out of place, not to mention too heavy to even move an inch.

Where was he? What happened?

Everything felt so far away for a moment that when he closed his eyes, he wondered if this was how it felt to be dead.

Was he dead? Did they kill him?

The door suddenly opened and he felt all the noise come rushing in at once, his eyes shifting around lazily to follow the hand that was currently grooming him. His fuzzy mind barely recognised the eye-patched Hunter.

"Kumi" He tried to speak, but his name was mouthed more than spoken.

"Joe, you awake?" The younger moved closer to check if he was alright, his shadow cast across the sheets and blocking out the light.

Joseph cleared his throat weakly. "Yeah" He rasped, faintly picking up the sound of footsteps approaching the bed.

"Joe!" It was Gillian. Her voice made him wince slightly, and she realised that she was talking a little too loudly. "How are you feeling?" She asked worriedly, gently cupping his face. Her hand was cool against his flushed skin, and he tried to reach up to keep her hand where it was but a sharp pain made him groan.

"Just relax, you're still pretty beat up" Kumi tried to calm him down but he was growing irate rather quickly.

"Agh, what the fuck?" Joseph frowned at the strange tightening of nerves in his left hand, clenching his teeth as the sedative began to wear off.

Gillian clasped her hand over his wrist before he could lift it, instructing him to look at her. "Look at me, Joe, you need to breathe, okay?" She told him, carefully caressing his face and moving his hair away.

"It fucking hurts!" He whined, breathing hard as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"I know, Joseph, just please" She begged, holding his hand down until he seemed calmer.

"I thought it wouldn't hurt after Malfatto sealed it" Kumi approached her as she went through the cupboard for some pain killers.

"Yeah, well, it's his dominant hand... And I don't think he realises that you cut his finger off" The redhead replied in an accusing manner.

Kumi couldn't bring himself to respond with the lump in his throat, and just turned to go check on his friend, only to find him trying to unwrap the bandage from around his hand. "Hey, no" He rushed over, tightening it up again.

"What the hell happened to my ring? Where's my ring? Gill, did you take it?" Joe asked, trying to stand up, but Kumi wouldn't let him.

"What's that?" She turned around to hear him better, but found him looking around for something.

"Where's my ring?" He asked again and it struck Kumi that Gillian was right.

His mind couldn't comprehend why his finger was missing and put the feeling of loss up to the fact he wasn't wearing the item he always had.

"I'll give you it, just take these" She tried to pass him two pills, noting that he was going to reach for them with his left hand so she offered her hand instead.

"I'm not a baby, Gill" He complained, trying to take the cup of water off her, but his attempt to close his fingers around it made him drop it instantly.

"Don't worry, I'll clean it" She assured him, but paused when he took a moment to properly look at his injury.

"Where's my finger?" The room was so deathly quiet by that point that he became even more confused.

"What the fuck happened? Where... What..." His heart rate shot up to a dangerous degree, and he seemed to be unsure of how to react.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

My, this one is a very long chapter, I apologise- and for all the bad language but hey, it's one of them stories.

If anything is confusing or you would like to know something, feel free to let me know!

Please R&R.

Yours Truly,

XShay.


	3. Trouble Brewing from Past Mistakes

Chapter 3: Trouble Brewing from Past Mistakes

 **Author's Note:**

Just to clarify, Joseph has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) which is why he exhibits unusual levels of anger and aggressiveness. People like this often have thoughts such as; 'I can't trust anyone', 'if I go out of control, it would be horrible or could not be tolerated', 'others are out to get me' or 'they won't protect me'.

* * *

"Where's my finger?" The room was so deathly quiet by that point that he became even more confused.

Gillian forced him to look at her, touching her forehead to his. "You lost your finger in an accident, we couldn't do anything, but you're here now and you're alright, okay? I have your ring with me" She lied.

Kumi stared at her, trying to understand why she didn't tell him the truth but it was clear that Joe trusted her for he nodded along to everything she said without question.

* * *

 _(some days later)_

"You know you don't have to do this" Joseph told her from behind the curtain, the hot water relaxing him as it cascaded down his body.

"I don't want to leave you alone" Gillian replied from where she sat on the empty water barrel nearby, watching his shadow through the barrier.

"Now isn't quite the time to be sentimental, Gill" He replied, running his hand through his hair to wash out the soap suds.

"Want me to get active?" She offered, already pulling off her tank top and kicking off her jeans.

"Fuck off, Gill" He grunted, not in the mood for games, but she wasn't either.

Gill pulled the curtain aside to step in, making him tense as she suddenly pressed her naked body against his back, arms coming around to wrap about his torso. "Are you in a bad mood, Joe?" She whispered, raking her nails across his abs.

"I feel awful... They lost their child, Gill" He muttered, bracing his right hand against the wall to keep his balance.

"They could always try again... It's a good thing nothing happened to her" Gillian pointed out, pressing a kiss to a bruise at his shoulder. "What did they do to you in there?" She muttered in disbelief as she took in the bruising along his back, her hands running against his sides delicately before tracing lower.

"Gill" He suddenly turned to face her, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her lips.

She drowned in the feeling of him so close to her, and she could hardly understand what was going on but all she could think about in that moment was how much she loved him and how terrified she had been of losing him just yesterday.

"I love you, Joseph" She wrapped her arms around his neck once they broke apart.

"Mm... I love you too" He replied, carefully pulling away to switch off the water.

"You don't want to...?" Gillian began as she saw him retrieve a towel.

"Come" He urged her, holding out his hand.

Gillian took it carefully, following him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Here they would have more privacy.

Gillian had fallen asleep against his chest, breathing steadily and peacefully in her slumber. She had been really tired, he noted, gently sifting his fingers through her hair. But it still didn't answer how he had lost his finger. It felt so unusual, and his brain still refused to comprehend that there was a missing segment off his hand. Sighing, he let his arm rest, pressing a kiss to Gillian's forehead, to which she seemed to move closer.

* * *

A knock on the door disturbed the peace and he carefully shifted her aside before climbing out of bed, pulling on his underwear and jeans before answering the door.

It was Manuel. "Hey, um... Is now a good time?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah. What's up?" Joe stepped out, closing the door behind him to stand in the hallway.

"I just wanted to, uh... Apologise for what happened at the raid... I was being selfish-" before he could finish, he found himself interrupted.

"Hey man don't turn this into a sob story. I'm just glad everyone is alright" Joe told him.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Uh... Joe, I wanted to ask you something..." Manuel admitted.

"Light me a cigarette first, I ain't had one in days" The other requested, moving towards the window. He pushed it open, leaning against it for support as he slid a roll out of the packet.

Manuel gulped, flicking the match against the box until he got a flame and lit it up.

"Thanks, man" He took a long drag gratefully, letting the smoke flow slowly from his scarred lips before offering him the cigarette.

Manuel accepted it, having a puff himself before handing it back.

"So, what did you want to ask?" Joe questioned.

"Oh, yeah... Is- Is Gillian your girlfriend?" He tried to sound as normal about it since he was, in fact, beating around the bush. Could he really tell him that Kumi was at fault for everything?

"Hm..." Joe, just like the woman, took a minute to think about his reply. "I guess you could say that" He shrugged, grey eyes fixating on him curiously, perhaps wondering what had brought the question on.

"What do you mean?" Manuel pried, hoping against hope that his emotions weren't so strongly reflected in his gaze.

"Long story... We went to the same college back in New York before everything went to hell, then a few years later after all of this began, we, uh... Ran into each other again. Except she was already a Hunter back then and I was with Kumi, Frank and Bill"

Manuel couldn't quite tell why Joseph had suddenly decided to tell him all of this- he wasn't one to normally share personal details, but Manuel was glad. It meant he trusted him. "So, the first time you met, she tried to kill you?" Manuel inquired.

"No, her old team were being cut down by military, and she got stranded... I couldn't leave her the way she was" Joe replied. "But, yes, she did try to kill me. Although she failed badly, I'd already done my years of service, so she was no challenge" He admitted, and Manuel reached out to investigate the dog tags he always wore.

One had his name printed on it, whilst the other was half rusted and somewhat damaged, but he could just about make out the name Renardo.

"How many years you done?" Manuel asked.

"Ten" Came the short answer.

"That's more than average... And then?" Realising that he was straying off topic, he retraced his steps.

Joe passed him the cigarette. "She stayed with us for a while... A kind touch here, a word spoken with too much emotion there... We got together"

Manuel shifted. "Any children?" He managed after a moment of getting over his surprise.

"No, heavens no" Joe scoffed. "Can you imagine trying to raise a child in all this?"

"I see… then?" He urged him to continue.

"Frank, Bill's partner... He and I didn't get along, he seemed interested in Gill a bit too much for my liking, but they get along very well" A deep drag was taken from the roll, the end flaring slightly.

"Cheated then?" Manuel offered and Joseph nodded to his surprise.

"Of course, she couldn't tell me, she was scared I would do something crazy to her or Frank, so she started making problems out of the smallest things. But Bill told me... He was too honest at the time and couldn't stand the way our relationship went" What was left of it was snuffed out. "I tried to talk to her about it, but she said it wasn't true... Said that she never really loved me and all she wanted from me was a child, said that I couldn't even give her that" Another cigarette quickly took its place and Manuel lit it for him sympathetically.

"And you stayed with her?" Manuel asked.

"I let her go, began a hobby of drinking myself till I couldn't stand and beat Frank up whenever there was no one there to stop me"

Somehow Manuel felt that things could only get worse from there. "So what happened?" He asked anyway and Joe laughed.

"Bill loved Frank too much to see his mistake, but he couldn't forgive me... Middle of the night they up and left, I heard them pack and I heard Kumi telling them they were going to hell for leaving me to die... He stayed with me. All we had was a gun with a few bullets and the clothes on our back" Joe seemed to be reliving that moment. "No alcohol and no food, and I was suffering... But I was angry at myself for ever letting things get this far and I promised Kumi that I wouldn't let him die on my behalf"

Now it made sense. Why Joe couldn't let William get away with Felicia. Why he always looked out for Kumi.

"Then you joined up with the Hunters and she was there right?" Manuel filled in and Joe nodded.

"I thought it was my fault... So I apologised, but she told me the truth. I think she must have seen that things had changed, and now we're starting over" He concluded.

"Joseph, there's something you should probably know..." He began, wanting to tell him about the incident outside the detention camp.

"Manuel...?" The older man was watching him closely, a slight frown on his expression as he tried to guess what small measure of unfamiliar emotions he could see in deep brown eyes.

"Joe I-" before he could finish the sentence Joe reached to grab the gun behind his belt. "Wait, Joseph-!"

Three gunshots echoed loudly off the barren walls, terrifying him.

"Fucking Infected" Joseph cursed, patting him on the shoulder. "We need to get out of here, get the others... If there are any" He added, handing him his gun back.

Manuel turned to watch him as he went back into his room to get his things. There was the corpse of a Stalker, blood seeping out of the bullet holes in its head, lying about two metres away from him.

"A Stalker?" It had clearly been infected for a long time, but how did it get into hospital? Rushing past, he ran down the corridor to find the rest of their crew. They needed to get out of there and fast.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

A short lead up chapter to kind of inform people what's going on and how these Hunters tie in with the canon.

If anything is confusing or you would like to know something, feel free to let me know!

Please R&R.

WritingLevel-Meh


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